Blood Splattered Roses
by Flora Winters
Summary: He was already infected and the killing curse only completed his transformation. I have rewritten this story, because I had to change the plot around to make the story work. This is a Harry and Cedric slash. Angst, Language, MM, Violence
1. Chapter Prologue

Blood Splattered Roses

Flora_Winters

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money here either.

Summary: He was already infected and the killing curse only completed his transformation. I have rewritten this story, because I had to change the plot around to make it work. This is a Harry and Cedric slash. Angst, Language, MM, Violence

Prologue

_Come into these arms again_

_And lay your body down_

_The rhythm of this trembling heart_

_It's beating like a drum_

_It beats for you, it bleeds for you_

_It knows not how it sounds_

_For it is the drum of drums_

_It is the song of songs_

--Annie Lennox (_Love Song for a Vampire_)

Harry James Potter, The Boy Who Lived, the young teen with the lightning bolt scar striking with wicked intent down his forehead, was slowly starting to think that he was spiraling into madness. His disturbing dreams were filled with the scent of blood and the ghostly fragrance of a million roses. He could see his dead lover, skin shining like a pale star, dressed only in slithering shadows. Large wings, like those belonging to a black bat were protruding from his broad back, arching over his head like stained glass windows.

He would come awake in the middle of the lonely nights, hearing the fluttering of massive wings and the haunting scent of roses permeated his bedroom with longing. Cold sweat would be drenching his trembling body and his unruly, dark locks would be matted to his smooth forehead. His breath would be ragged, as if he had been running from all the demons in Hel herself.

Oh, the memories tormented and scratched at him with sharp claws.

"_What happened to Cedric in that graveyard must have been terrible, Harry." Professor Moody said to him, going about making a kettle of soothing tea. Harry had practically been wrenched away from Cedric's still body and spirited away like the wind._

_Harry had just stood there, looking at his professor with sudden bewilderment. He had not said a word about being in any graveyard. How had his professor known he had been in a graveyard with Cedric?_

_The thoughts raced through his mind and something deep within him snapped like someone's wand. He raced across the room, throwing himself onto the old man's back, screaming at the top of his lungs, and beating him in the back of the head with his free fist._

"_I'll kill you! I'll kill you! How could you know about that graveyard? Were you the one who enchanted the cup? Were you? Answer me! Answer me, you goddamned son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"_

_He dug his long fingers into Moody's face, scratching his skin all to hell. He punched him, he slapped him, and he did his best to get at his one good eye. He was going to jab it out._

_Moody threw him off over his head and Harry landed on his back, winded. He scrambled to his feet, madder than any wild animal, running for the sword he saw hanging on the wall. He grabbed it, spun around, holding it up, and come face to face with the glowing tip of an angry wand._

_He didn't care. He was going to kill him. He was going to kill him for luring Cedric to his untimely death. Cedric had died because of him. It was his fault. He was going to make him pay for the emptiness he saw in Cedric's once bright eyes. His boyfriend was cold and lifeless all because of him._

_He cried out at the top of his lungs, lunging at Moody with the deadly tip, only for the large wooden door to be blasted open. The force of the magic knocked him down, sounding of thunder. Moody found himself without a wand and wrapped in enchanted chains. A strong pair of hands and arms came around Harry, holding him at bay._

"_Let me go! He has to die! He made Cedric die! Let me go! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you! Let me go! Let me kill him! He made the cup a portkey that took us to Voldemort! Let me go! Get the fuck off me, you greasy bastard!"_

"_Do calm your self, Mr. Potter," A silky voice hissed with much disdain, holding him even tighter._

_Harry screamed at the top of his lungs, clawing, scratching, kicking, and trying to get at the man. He saw blood dripping from Moody's sudden changing face, and he wanted to see more of it. He wanted to see him bleed dry._

_Professor Moody turned out not to be Professor Moody at all. It was Barty Crouch Jr. He had been using the Polyjuice Potion all along._

_Harry was panting for breath, hissing to be freed. He watched in hate as two men he didn't recognize led Barty from the room._

"_I'll kill you!" Harry screamed. "You think you fear the mercy of that Half Blooded Bitch! Just you wait until you come face to face with my mercy! I'll slowly peel the skin from your meat and sprinkle you with salt!"_

_Barty only slithered his protruding tongue at Harry, laughing at him._

_Harry threw his head back, howling with rage. "Laugh all you want! You're dead! Do you hear me? You're dead! I'll make the dementors look like heavenly angels when I come for you!"_

He slowly got to his feet, making his way over to the large window. It was open and the night air was warm on his shiny face. Maybe it had been Hedwig's wings he had heard?

He looked over at her cage. She was in it and looked to be sound asleep with a wing over her head. Perhaps she had flapped them in her sleep? Maybe she was chasing a rat or a squirrel through some grass.

That had to be it. He turned back to his bed and froze.

He could see blood dripping from his white sheets and crimson rose petals littered the floor, blowing across the bloodied sheets in a breeze he couldn't feel. He took a trembling step forward and it all vanished in a fragrant breeze, tinged with copper, leaving him misty eyed.

He fell to his knees, over onto his side, and curled up into a tight ball. He sobbed until he thought he would die.

~*~

_Silver moonlight streamed in through the crystal clear window, illuminating the bedroom with radiant beams of pale light. A soft flutter of dark wings could be heard just outside, and a dark shape hovered just on the other side of that thin glass._

_A bewitching voice cooed like a soothing stream of bubbling cool water across Harry's bone white flesh, sparkling in his mind like blue lights. The red silk sheets hissed down his naked body as he walked towards the shining image in the window._

"_Let me come in, Harry," the gentle voice whispered, promising endless happiness and blissful warmth. "Please, let me come in."_

_He reached out with a pale, slender hand, unlocking the window with a soft click. The glass swung open and a soft shower of glittering red petals blew all around him, permeating the air with their aromatic euphoria._

"_Cedric," Harry whispered. His emerald eyes glazed over with unshed tears._

_He was tenderly enveloped in strong, glowing, alabaster arms. Smoky grey eyes looked as if they could suck him down into a fiery furnace of ecstasy._

_Those large bat-like wings shimmered like the darkest of onyx glass, wrapping about the two of them like a glossy cocoon. Glowing red lips burned like flames against Harry's chilled flesh._

"_Don't lock me out, Harry," Cedric whispered. His voice reminded him of falling snow. It sparkled and shimmered all around him. "I'm not gone."_

_Harry trembled in that powerful embrace and the tears streamed from his eyes. The tears bled straight and true from his bruised and broken heart._

_He started to cry and it came from deep within his battered soul. He didn't want to be alone. Being alone was scary. The sobs racked his small frame and he clung to Cedric with all his might._

"_I love you, Harry," Cedric said, smiling with the radiance of a silver star. His hair fell about his face like molten streams of golden fire._

_Harry rested his cheek against that cool, marble sculpted chest. He had a hand slightly above a pale pink nipple, realizing that no heart was beating within._

"_Please," Cedric begged, squeezing him tight. "Tell me that you love me, Harry."_

_Green gemstones gazed up into that heartbreakingly handsome face, feeling himself being pulled away from him by an invisible tug._

"_NO!" He cried out, reaching for Cedric's outstretched hand. "I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!"_

"_Harry!" Cedric begged, reaching for him, flapping his mighty wings. "Tell me that you love me!"_

"_I love you!" Harry wailed, pulling on his hair as he felt himself falling through the darkness between the stars. "I LOVE YOU!"_

"_I'm not gone," Cedric's voice echoed after him. Blood red petals swirled madly around him. "I'm never gone! Don't lock me out, Harry…"_

_~*~_

Cedric opened his molten mercury orbs, ivory white fangs sliding down from their fleshy pink pockets in his mouth, and he snarled as he scratched at the darkness above him. He had been so close!

He threw back his head, arched his back, screaming Harry's name into the darkness all around him as he pounded away against the cold metal above him.

~*~

Harry woke up, crying out Cedric's name. His hand collided with Ron's astonished face, causing the redhead to squawk, and duck away from him.

"Harry!" Hermione cried in surprise, suddenly at his side, helping him. "It was only a dream. You're all right now."

He sat up, his breathing all ragged and labored, looking around with wide, wild, and blurry eyes. Hadn't he fallen over in the floor by the window? Was he going insane? He could smell the roses. He could smell them everywhere now.

"There was someone at the window," he rasped, pointing at it with a trembling finger.

Both teens looked at each other with concern.

"Sirius found you in the floor," Ron said, rubbing his reddening cheek. Harry had smacked him a good one.

Hermione nodded. "You were sleepwalking again, Harry."

"Roses," he whispered, looking down at his sheets. "They were dripping red with blood and they smelled so…good…"

Ron made a face of disgust. He hated the sight of blood, even the fake kind, too.

"There is no roses here, Harry," Hermione told him, taking his trembling hands in her steady ones. "It was all just a dream."

"I'm really sorry," Harry said, looking at Ron's blurry image.

Ron nodded, handing him his glasses. "Are you hungry?"

Harry gazed back at the window. There was sunlight. "No…"

Hermione got to her feet, pulling on his hand. "You have to eat something. You're as white as a piece of paper."

Harry gazed over at Ron for help, but the redhead merely shrugged his shoulders in answer. "You had better do as she says if you know what's good for you, Harry," he told him.

"Come on," the bushy haired girl said, pulling him to his bare feet. "Ron's mother has fixed a wonderful breakfast, Harry."

The raven headed teen sighed, slowly following the two of them from the room, only to stop and look back at the closed window. The name silently fell from his lips.

"Cedric…"

"_Don't lock me out, Harry," a whisper spoke to his soul. "I'm not gone from you."_

"What was that?" Ron asked, turning around from the door.

"I said that I'll be right down," Harry told him.

He walked back over to the window and unlocked it with a soft click.

TBC…

Please review and tell me what you think. I have most of this story written now, and I just have to fix these first few chapters before I post the rest of it. Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews so far.

Flora.


	2. Chapter One

Blood Splattered Roses

Flora_Winters

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money here either.

Summary: He was already infected and the killing curse only completed his transformation. I have rewritten this story, because I had to change the plot around to make it work. This is a Harry and Cedric slash. Angst, Language, MM, Violence

Chapter One

_Once I had the rarest rose_

_That ever deigned to bloom_

_Cruel winter chilled the bud_

_And stole my flower too soon_

_Oh loneliness_

_Oh hopelessness_

_To search the ends of time_

_For there is in all the world_

_No greater love than mine_

--Annie Lennox (_Love Song for a Vampire_)

The wind was blowing ever so hauntingly through the little rundown park, picking off loose leaves from trees and spinning them about in the misty air. A few red ones were strewn about Harry's feet, where he was sitting on a lonely swing. It was creaking as he rocked back and forth, back and forth, in an almost hypnotic fashion. He was looking up at the slowly, darkening sky, with a vacant expression in his glossy eyes. His face was pale and his dark hair was mussed by the ghostly breeze.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, stepping up to him. She had a warm smile on her pretty face. "It is starting to get dark. Don't you think it's time we start heading back to everyone?"

The Boy Who Lived looked at her with empty, green eyes. They had once sparkled with such vibrant, emerald radiance. The wind suddenly blew again, ruffling his smoky, black locks. He shook his head.

"I want to see the stars."

Her smile turned to that of sadness. Her friend was slowly starting to loose touch with everything that was going on around him. All he ever did now was walk around in shadows, like he was looking for something or for someone who would never be there.

"You can watch them back at the house, Harry," she told him in a gentle tone. "You know how Sirius doesn't like for any of us to be out past dark."

"The stars tell us everything," he said, looking away from her and back up at the velvet sky. "They try to tell us so much, but we never listen to them."

A dog started howling in the near distance, soon followed by a few more. It was quite apparent to the bushy haired girl that something was really upsetting them. "I'm sure Ron's mother has a nice dinner waiting for us, Harry," she told him, pulling her flapping cloak around her shoulders a little more firmly. "Aren't you feeling at least a little bit hungry?"

"Do you think Cedric is up there somewhere?" Harry asked, pointing up beyond the rolling clouds that were slowly sailing across the pale crescent that would soon be filled with radiant silver light. "Do you think he is up there somewhere shining in that vast sea of stars?"

She gave him a happy smile, but it pained her to do so. One minute he knew that Cedric was gone and the next, he was calling out his name like he expected an immediate answer. He was also not eating well at all. He was getting too thin to be healthy. He had always been skinny, but this weight loss was ridiculous.

"Come on, Harry," she said, holding out her hand for him to take hold of. "We need to get back or we'll get in trouble. You know what Sirius told us."

"I…miss him," Harry whispered, carefully placing his quivering hand in hers. "Why can't I see him?"

"He loved you, Harry," she told him, closing her hand over his, gently pulling him to his feet. His hand was only slightly bigger than hers. "And love is that really matters, right?"

The dark headed teen smiled and a single tear slid from the corner of his left eye, trailing down his bone-white cheek. "The moon is so pretty," he said, looking off again. "Did you know that there is a princess who lives on it?"

Hermione put on her thoughtful face. "Is there really?"

"Cedric thinks there is," he told her, pointing up with an index finger. "She lives in a palace made of shimmering moonstones and she plays fun games with a fluffy white bunny named Bob."

"A bunny named Bob?" She asked, cocking a bushy brow.

He nodded, hopping a few steps from beside her. "The two of them play tag in the garden. All the trees are made of chocolate."

"It sounds like a very pretty story, Harry," she told him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah," he smiled, picking a piece of leaf from her frizzy hair. "Cedric tells the best stories. We should all have a sleepover party."

"Oh?" She asked.

He nodded. "But, all the stories have to have happy endings."

"We'll make sure of it," she told him, looking across the deserted street. "You'll have to share some of those stories with me before that."

He nodded, grinning. It broke her heart all over again. Her best friend's happy ending had been shattered like moonbeams, which sparkled on broken glass.

"So many voices," Harry giggled, looking all around. "The stars sure do like to talk a lot, if a little fast."

"Well," Hermione nodded. "There are a lot of them up there. They have to talk fast, Harry. How else will they catch up on all the juicy gossip?"

Harry laughed and it hurt to hear him do so. It was so empty and more lifeless than a dead planet.

The dogs were barking their yipping heads off, and then the creeping night fell very silent. It was as if a thumb had pressed the mute button on a television remote. Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, whipping out her wand. Something was following them. Well, it actually felt more like something was stalking them.

"I'm cold," Harry said, shivering from beside her. Hermione suddenly saw that she could see both their breaths. "I don't like the cold, Hermione."

She began to panic when she looked down. The puddle at their feet was slowly freezing as though Jack Front were breathing on it. She jumped when a shrill shriek attacked her ears from above and all around the two of them.

"Come on!" She yelled, pulling on Harry's hand, having him race along with her.

It was a dementor. Why was there a dementor here? Weren't they supposed to stay at Azkaban, unless ordered by the Ministry otherwise?

The shrill and evil shrieks followed after them like stalking wolves.

"NO!" Harry cried out in terror, tripping onto the pavement, falling with a thud.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, spinning around, racing back to him. "You have to get up!"

He curled up into a tight ball, holding his hands over his ears. Tears were streaming from his eyes and be began to scream in horror. It scared Hermione nearly to death.

"Stop it!" He cried out, shaking his head. His eyes were so wide, and staring past her. "I don't want to hear! Please, don't make me see! I DON'T WANT TO SEE!"

"Snap out of it, Harry!" She shouted, trying to pull him up, suddenly freezing. She spun around, seeing the dementor. It was floating just yards from where the two teens were. The darkness hissed and billowed around it. She could feel the cold begin to creep into her bones like daggers made of ice. It nearly caused her to drop he wand.

"Cedric!" Harry screamed, reaching out for a hand she couldn't even see. "Don't kill him! Don't take him away from me! I need him! Stop it, please! Don't do this! CEDRIC!"

Hermione knelt in front of him, terrified out of her mind. She didn't know what the hell to do. The dementor was coming right at them and she was helpless.

The demon shrieked and she spun away, throwing herself over Harry's trembling and crying form. She didn't see the beam of shimmering, silver light go whizzing over them. It looked like a brilliant silver star.

The dementor hissed in outrage, taking to the sky with the shooting star chasing after it. The dark creature twirled and spun through the air, snarling out of sight.

"Harry!" A loud voice shouted from a distance. "Are you two okay, Hermione?"

She raised her head, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. It was Professor Lupin and Sirius. They were running as fast as their legs could carry them. Well, Sirius was running on four paws.

The black dog pounced on Harry, licking his salty face.

"Puppy!" Harry cried, throwing his arms around the big dog's neck.

"What the hell was that monster doing here?" Remus asked, helping Hermione to her feet.

She shook her head. "It was going to get us."

"Come on," Remus said, telling Harry to follow the pretty puppy. "I need to inform Dumbledore about this at once."

Hermione nodded, reaching behind to take Harry's hand. She didn't want him to wonder off.

"Puppy," Harry ordered, "Jump!"

Sirius did so, with a bark.

~*~

"Harry?" Ron asked, looking across the dining table at him. "Are you not going to eat anything again?"

Harry was just sitting there, looking at the food with a blank expression on his face. The very smell of it was making his stomach turn. He didn't want to eat it. He just wanted to go out and look at the pretty stars.

"You need to eat something, Harry," Sirius told him, gesturing at all the good food Mrs. Weasley had prepared. It was spread out across the table. "Just pick one little thing and eat it."

Harry wrinkled his nose, turning away with a brutal pout. He didn't want to do it. It was all just so nasty looking and it smelled terrible.

"Ah," an old voice came from the darkened doorway. "I see that I have arrived just in time for a wonderful meal, Sirius."

"Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said, rising to his feet. "I take it that Remus has told you everything then."

The old wizard nodded his sagely head. "Indeed he has and I'm quite concerned," he told him. "The ministry is up in arms about it."

Hermione rolled her eyes. That meant the ministry didn't give a damn. They were probably sorry the demon hadn't sucked out their souls.

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said, smiling at the young man. "That is a really big plate of food you have there." Harry looked at him with dead eyes and the old wizard turned to Sirius. "Is he still refusing to eat?"

Sirius could only nod his head. "He barely touched anything anymore, Dumbledore. I think I saw take a small bite from an apple yesterday. He used to like the big red ones, but he just tossed it away and went to go read a book."

Dumbledore stroked his long beard, turning back to Harry with a sad expression on his wizened face. "I guess he leaves us with no other alternative then."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"I can't allow him to starve himself to his grave," Dumbledore said, reaching into his violet robes.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other from across the table and Sirius told them to take their plates into the parlor. They gawked at him, but quickly did as they were told.

"Can I go see the stars now?" Harry asked, pushing away from the table.

"Not just yet, Harry," Dumbledore smiled.

Harry sighed, pouting all the more. "I want to see them."

"You can, once you're done eating your supper," the wizard told him. "Molly Weasley might not be here right now, but she went through an awful lot of trouble to fix this fine meal."

"I'm not hungry!" Harry snapped. He felt like breathing something, lots of something, and then run away. "I just want…"

Dumbledore pointed his wand at the teen. "Imperios!"

Sirius' eyes widened and he jumped to his feet once more. "What the bloody hell, Dumbledore?"

"I told you," he said. "I will not let him die."

Sad blue eyes twinkled into Harry's blank green ones.

_Eat the food that is on your plate like you used to do, Harry._

Sirius watched with a stunned expression as Harry picked up his fork and began to eat the food that was on his plate. "This is illegal," he said. "You can get into trouble for this."

I have already informed the ministry about the situation and the minister agreed with me," Dumbledore said. "If this is the only way to ensure that Harry eats, then so be it."

That translated to Hermione, who was listening in from around the corner that the old wizard must have used his wiles to get what he wanted from the ministry like he always did. She couldn't believe this. They now had to resort to a forbidden curse in order to get Harry to eat. This was really bad. It was just more proof that Harry was letting himself fade away.

"Even when he's like this," Dumbledore said, keeping his wand on Harry. The tip glowed. "He is still very willful."

Hermione turned to Ron. He looked outraged.

When Harry had finished the food that was on his plate, Dumbledore lifted the curse from him. Emerald eyes just gazed around, looking really confused.

"You may go watch the stars now, Harry," Dumbledore told him.

The confused and bewildered teen got to his feet and slowly exited the room, rubbing his tummy. Why did he feel so full?

"If he continues not eating," Dumbledore said, turning back to Sirius. "Just make him."

Sirius could only nod. It was the only thing they could do. They just couldn't force feed him. That would probably wind up hurting Harry or one of them.

He watched Dumbledore fix himself a large plate of food and waved him off. That man was like a constant whirlwind.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Harry must have really loved that young man.

~*~

Harry was standing in his silent bedroom, looking out the window. He made sure it was unlocked. It was like a distant voice was telling him to do these little things for it.

The stars had been so pretty. He had looked up at them, wondering what it would be like to dance among them.

The crescent moon was shining ever so brightly now. He pictured the princess and her bunny running around in a garden filled with chocolate trees and gummy flowers. Cedric could paint such pretty pictures. He could almost hear his laughter.

He took off his shirt, climbed onto the large bed, and got under the covers. He pulled them up to his chin and stared at the ceiling. All he wanted to do was sleep and stay lost in his happy dreams. That was all he wanted to do. Was that so wrong? He was happier in his dreams, for the most part.

He closed his eyes, rolling over onto his side.

"Goodnight, Cedric."

~*~

_Pale silver mist seemed to dance in the air as he walked among the ancient tombstones. The fog danced around him like twirling phantoms that were singing the night's mysteries to him._

_Flowing red silk clothed his slender frame, fanning out like scarlet wings behind him as he turned this way and that through the maze of silent death. The rose scented air ruffled his dark locks and a gentle growl came from behind him._

_He spun around, seeing a beautiful white wolf standing there. It was looking at him with big gray eyes. It was the most stunning and proud creature he had ever seen. A wave of mist washed over the beast and when it cleared, it was gone._

"_Harry."_

_Rose petals were falling from the sky like snow, landing at his pale white feet. Their scent filled the air with intoxication._

_He looked around with big green eyes, following the enchanting voice through the silver haze. It wasn't very soon until the whole ground was covered in bloody petals._

"_Come to me, Harry."_

_His emerald orbs widened when he stood before a white marble tomb with a big black gate barring him entrance. He was looking up at the name that was written in script above it._

_DIGGORY_

"_No," he gasped, looking about in horror. "I don't want to be here."_

_Blinding white pain filled him and he fell to his knees in a hiss of silk and fluttering petals. He clawed the earth, shredding rose petals, crying out in agony._

"_Harry? Please don't cry, Harry."_

"_Shut up!" He yelled, scrambling to his feet in billowing waves of crimson, slamming himself against the locked gates. "You left me all alone!"_

_He beat his fists against the cold metal, screaming his heartache at the top of his lungs._

"_How could you leave me?" He cried, clawing at the coiling metal, kicking at it with his feet. "I HATE YOU!"_

_Tears streamed from his eyes like molten silver flames. He banged his palms against the black bars. "How could you leave me all alone?" He screamed in heart-shattering agony, feeling like it was going to explode in his chest. "How could you do this to me? How could you make me love you so much and then leave me here?" He fell to his knees again, screaming as he pulled at his hair. "Please, come back! I LOVE YOU!"_

_The sound of a metal lock clicked and the black gates gently swung open. Rose petals fluttered into the darkness in blood red spirals of scented gloom._

"_Come to me, Harry."_

_He slowly crawled forward on his knees, cocking his head to the side._

"_Cedric…"_

_A warm chuckle chased the cold away._

"_Please, Harry," the voice summoned with need. "Come, set me free."_

_Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and got up. He could feel the cold marble under his bare feet as they carried him into the sweet scented darkness. He was surrounded in nothing but blackness, only for twin torches to suddenly burst into flames on either side of a silver coffin._

"_Cedric…"_

"_Let me out, Harry," the voice called to him with such want, with such passion. "Let me hold you again."_

_Harry trembled. "How?"_

"_Love me?" The voice asked._

"_I do love you," he said, stepping up to the coffin. His boy friend's name was carved across it. "I love you more than anything."_

"_Touch it," the voice bewitched. "Touch it, Harry."_

_Harry reached out with a trembling, pale hand. He gently placed it where there was an impression of a palm. A silver flash filled the room, causing him to leap backwards. The lid to the coffin began rising up into the air and was instantly thrown across the room where it collided with the marble wall. It fell to the ground with a loud bang._

_He slowly walked up to the coffin once more, taking a deep breath before peering down. When he did, he couldn't believe it. The coffin was filled up to the rim with shimmering red rose petals._

_A warm wind began to blow throughout the chamber and the petals began to spiral into the air, where they flew around in circles. Harry put both hands to his mouth in stunned shock._

_It was Cedric. There he was, lying in his coffin, looking ever so beautiful._

"_Wake me up, Harry," the voice commanded. "Bring me to life with your kiss."_

_Tears fell from his eyes once more. He was shaking and he couldn't stop._

"_I'm not gone, Harry," the voice told him. "I'm right before you. All you have to do is wake me up."_

_Harry leaned over the body in the coffin, gently touching a smooth, alabaster cheek. It felt so soft and cool. He ran his trembling fingers over those blood red lips. They seemed to glow like rubies. They were so full and brutally seductive. The wind made those golden locks shimmer in the torchlight._

_He closed his green eyes and gently pressed his lips against the still corpse's lips. His eyes snapped open when a powerful hand gripped his wrist. He was staring down into the most beautiful eyes in the world._

_He pulled his face away, gasping._

"_I knew you'd come for me," Cedric smiled with really white teeth. His handsome face blinding him with perfection. "I love you so much, Harry."_

"_Hold me," Harry said. His voice was but a faint whisper. "Don't ever let me go again."_

_Cedric sat up and Harry noticed the pale pink sheet falling away from his naked chest. Sculpted alabaster arms wrapped around him, pulling him into the coffin beside him._

"_Let me stay with you," Harry told him, holding him with all his might. "Don't ever let me leave this place. I want to stay with you, right here, forever."_

"_Why would you want to stay here?" Cedric asked, nuzzling his cheek, plating cool kisses along his smooth throat. "We can go anywhere we want to, Harry."_

_Harry shivered. Cedric snarled against his pale throat like some large, hungry cat. Pearly white teeth grazed along the surface of his skin._

"_Red looks so good on you, Harry," he cooed, licking the spot where the vein was pulsing away under that white flesh. "You smell so wonderful."_

_Harry moaned when he felt Cedric gently sink something sharp into his neck. It was like every atom in his being was basking in the heart of a blazing star._

"_Don't let me go!" Harry cried, digging his fingers into Cedric's broad back, feeling all the love in the world. "Don't let me go!"_

_Cedric sunk his teeth in deeper and pulled his mouth away moments later, licking his fangs with a fiery red tongue. He kissed the twin puncture marks, causing the silent teen to tremble and weep all over again. He sniffed and snarled against the beautiful young man's gorgeous flesh, kissing his smooth jaw line._

_"Please...don't leave me."_

"_I love you so much, Harry," he said, holding him tight. "And I'll never let you go. I'll never let anything or anyone keep up apart again. Not even Death can keep me from you now."_

_Harry smiled, drifting off into his comforting embrace. Cedric sang him a fairytale. It was about a young man who fell in love, died, and became immortal among the bleeding roses._

TBC…

Thank you all so much for the reviews. Please, keep telling me what you think.

Flora.


	3. Chapter Two

Blood Splattered Roses

Flora_Winters

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money here either.

Summary: He was already infected and the killing curse only completed his transformation. I have rewritten this story, because I had to change the plot around to make it work. This is a Harry and Cedric slash. Angst, Language, MM, Violence

Chapter Two

_Let me be the only one_

_To keep you from the cold_

_Now the floor of heaven is laid_

_With stars of brightest gold_

_They shine for you_

_They shine for you_

_They burn for all to see_

_Come into these arms again_

_And set this spirit free_

--Annie Lennox (_Love Song for a Vampire_)

Sirius finished shaving off his dark beard, looking himself over in the smooth surface of an oval shaped mirror before him. It was set in a shiny golden frame, decorated with black thorns all along the rim. He sat back in his chair and Remus went about cutting his long hair. It was time for a change and it was long overdue.

"How's this?" The werewolf asked, receiving a curt nod. He sat about clipping away the dark locks with his sharp scissors. It only took him a few moments to complete his work. Enchanted scissors were such blessings.

"Do you remember where I put that book at, Remus?" Sirius asked, while the werewolf swept up the fallen hair.

Suddenly, the two of them turned, when the flames in the stone fireplace shot up in a crackling whoosh. They felt the powerful heat upon their skin and orange sparks settled all over the place. Dumbledore's face appeared within the flames and he looked awfully anxious about something.

"Sirius," the old wizard called, looking about with glowing blue eyes. His face looked like magma. "Are you there?"

The animagus quickly got to his feet, rushing over to the hissing flames. He knelt down, looking into the old wizard's fiery face. "What is it, Dumbledore? Is something the matter?"

"Harry," Dumbledore said, looking at him with those blue eyes. "I need you to bring Harry to me now."

Sirius looked at him in bewilderment. "It is well past midnight, Dumbledore. Harry is sleeping quietly…for once."

The elder wizard looked as though he were trying his best to reach with both hands through the fire in order to give him a rough, but very polite throttling. "This is of the utmost importance. I assure you, Sirius. Bring Harry to me now, please."

Dumbledore's face suddenly vanished in a loud poof of red smoke and the flames died back down, dancing peacefully over the logs once more. The animagus looked over at the werewolf, who was holding a metal dustpan, only to yelp out loud when the flames shot back up again.

"Oh, and by the way," the crazy wizard said. "I adore the new look. Short hair and a clean shaven face suit you very well, Sirius."

Dark eyes blinked and the old man was gone in a poof once again. He chose to ignore the werewolf's stunned chuckle. "Well," he said, summoning his boots and cloak with a _borrowed _wand. "Looks like I need to go wake Harry then, huh."

Remus nodded his head. "Would you like for me to tag along?"

Sirius gave him a look and opened the door. "One can never be too careful."

The two adults walked down the hall and across to where Harry's bedroom was. Sirius put his hand on the brass doorknob, suddenly freezing in place.

"Do you smell something?" Remus whispered from beside him.

He nodded his head. "Is that roses?"

He turned the cold knob and gently pushed the door open as silently as he could. The both of them poked their heads inside and gawked. The window was wide open and swinging back and forth in the rose scented air that permeated the room like perfume. Blood red petals littered the wooden floor like discarded gemstones.

Sirius rushed in and over to the bed, where his only godson was sleeping soundly. His still form was bathed in a silver glow. The moonlight was streaming in through the open window.

Harry's skin was white as snow and his lips were red as blood. His black hair was fanned out about his startling face like the wicked wings of the War Maiden's raven. A single red rose was tucked behind his left ear. His face looked ever so beautiful, tranquilly serene, and quite dead.

Panic filled him and to his quick relief, found that his precious godson was still breathing. He had been so frightened he discovered he had tears in his eyes.

"Is he all right?" Remus asked from the open doorway.

He waved to the werewolf and gently began to shake Harry's porcelain white arm. The young man was so pale. "Check the window, Remus. Someone has been in here."

The man did so.

"Harry," Sirius said, shaking him.

Harry's petal red lips slightly parted and he sighed, turning his face away. His dark locks fell across his stunningly white face like a curtain of black smoke. Had his hair always been this long?

"Harry?" He asked again, shaking him a little harder this time around. "I need for you to wake up."

"Not now, Cedric," the teen whined against his red pillow, gripping the black sheets that were pooled around his naked, narrow waist.

Sirius looked to see Remus closing the window and then back down at Harry. He suddenly thought he saw twin puncture marks on that smooth throat. He blinked and only saw flawless flesh. It must have been a trick of the moonlight.

"Come on, Harry," he pleaded with him once more, not wanting to yell and wake the household. "I need for you to wake up now."

He pulled his large hand away when Harry turned his sleeping face back over. He watched in silence as those long dark lashes fluttered open like the wings of a butterfly. His breath left him and he broke out into goosebumps.

His godson was looking up at him with such spooky eyes. They simply looked to be unnatural. They were so green and clear. They looked like crystal orbs that were filled with an emerald radiance. The lightning bolt scar on his smooth brow contrasted beautifully with his snowy complexion.

"Cedric?" He asked, sitting up with fluid grace that no human could possibly possess. It was a movement that would have had Snape's face turn jade with jealousy. Dark hair flowed and coiled about his slender shoulders. It had gotten longer.

"No, Harry," he gently answered him. "It is just Remus and me."

Harry blinked, letting the black sheet fall away from his naked skin. "No…" There was so much pain in that tiny, little whispered word.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to talk to you, Harry," he told him, hoping that his godson wasn't naked underneath all that silky darkness.

"There are rose petals!" Harry suddenly screamed in terror, throwing his arms about in a flurry, nearly falling off the bed. "Don't you see them? Tell me you see them, too!"

Sirius grabbed hold of him and the rose, which had been tucked behind his ear, fell to the floor with the other loose petals. He grimaced in pain as he held the teen close. How could someone so tiny be so damn strong? "Yes," he answered him, doing his best to calm him quickly. "I can see them as well, Harry."

Where had they come from? Someone or something had been in this room with Harry. He looked different. His hair hadn't been this long at dinner. Had it?

"I was so happy," Harry sobbed brokenly, squeezing his godfather's shoulders until the man nearly yelped in pain. "Why did I have to wake up? Why do I always keep waking up? Why can't I just sleep and dream forever?"

The older man flinched in pain. Harry was a strong, little thing.

"Calm down," he soothed. "You're going to be all right."

"No," Harry said, sniffing the rose scented air, trembling in mental anguish. His voice was deader than a graveyard struck with blight. "I'm never going to be okay."

Sirius hugged him. He was slowly losing the one thing in this world that mattered most to him and no amount of Imperio was going to fix it.

"I love you, Harry," he cooed to him, kissing the top of his head. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"It counts," Harry sobbed, slowly loosening his iron grip on his godfather. "But, it's just not the same."

"Harry," Remus said, making his presence known. He took a seat on the other side of him. "Professor Dumbledore needs to speak with you about something important."

"You look silly, Siri," the teen suddenly laughed, pulling on his short hair, clearly pretending he hadn't heard Remus at all. "You're a shaved poodle now."

He loved when Harry would call him Siri. It was so endearing, but it hurt his heart as well. "That's not funny," he said, doing his best to smile instead of cry.

Harry grinned. His pale cheeks were wet with tears.

"Come on then, Harry," Sirius said, ignoring the mystery of the rose petals for now. "Let's get you dressed and go see the wise wizard."

Harry lowered his green eyes. "The wizard?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded.

Harry looked up at him with the saddest and most hopeful of smiles on his haunting face. "Do you think he can give me back the love I lost?"

Sirius' heart cracked all over again, and he pulled the trembling teen against his chest, holding him tight. "Love can never be lost, Harry. Love is immortal. It lives forever."

_Oh, Harry!_ His heart cried for him. _You have lost your parents, your childhood, your innocence, and someone you loved so dearly. Please, please don't lose yourself, too._

Remus gently brushed his _long_ fingers through Harry's hair. The moon was going to be full in just a few nights.

"Then why do I always feel so lost and alone?" He asked, closing his tear-filled eyes.

_You're not alone._ A sensuous voice whispered in his head. _I'm not gone._

"Cedric?" He asked, pulling away from them both. "Where are you? Quit hiding from me and come out."

Fear gripped Sirius and he looked at Remus. Harry wasn't losing his mind. It was already gone.

_Come to me now._ The voice told him. _Get dressed, Harry._

"Harry?" Remus asked when the teen began crawling towards the foot of the bed, stumbling to his snowy feet. "What is it?"

"I have to get dressed," he said, walking up to his closet door like a wispy phantom.

_Come to Hogwarts._ The warm voice sparkled in soothing tones. _Come to Hogwarts now._

"Hogwarts," Harry began chanting over and over, out loud as he dressed himself without shame in front of them. "I have to go to Hogwarts."

"Yes," Sirius said, looking away as the teen dropped what he was wearing and began changing. "We have to go to Hogwarts, Harry."

Remus got to his feet. "I'll go and ready the floo then," he said, hurrying from the room.

_You set me free._ The voice cooed to him, filling the teen's mind with shimmering starlight. _I want to hold you._

Sirius looked out the corner of his eye and nearly gasped. Had Harry really lost so much weight? He looked like the undead. The clothes seemed to hang off him.

"I'm coming," Harry said to empty air, turning for the door without any shoes on. "Wait for me?"

Sirius followed him out the door, not noticing how the rose petals were slowly fading away in ruby red sparkles that swirled around in the air like faerie fire.

~*~

Harry stepped out of the roaring green flames with his left hand in Sirius'. Remus came strolling out soon after them.

Dumbledore stepped around a big chair. It was facing away from them. His magnificent robes were the color of a brilliant sunset. That hat on top of his head was large. The pointy tip was dangling over to the side with a golden ball dangling from it as well.

"Harry," the old wizard greeted, giving him the warmest of smiles. "How are you, my boy?"

"Siri shaved," he said, looking about the office. "And he cut his hair, too."

The old wizard nodded. "Do you not like it?"

"Oh, I do," Harry answered, not noticing how the professor was regarding his physical appearance. "He looks very handsome now."

Dumbledore chuckled, stroking his long white beard.

"Surely you didn't have us come here so you can chat with Harry about my sudden change in style, Dumbledore," Sirius said in exasperation.

Remus nodded in agreement.

The old wizard suddenly strolled forward, causing his elaborate robes to flare about like sun beams. He went down softly on his knees before the beautiful young man, gently gripping his smooth white hands in his ancient ones. He looked up into green eyes with his twinkling blue ones. His smile was warm, like the sun.

"Harry," he said, squeezing his youthful hands. "Cedric is alive."

Sirius felt his jaw hit the floor with a thud, and Remus felt like he had been smacked across the face with a full moon discus.

The troubled teen blinked his long lashes and his garnet lips twitched.

"Harry."

He slowly raised his head. Cedric was standing in front of the chair. A shaky breath got lodged in his throat.

Cedric was standing there in the warm firelight, wearing nothing but a pair of skin-tight pants. They were black and sleek. He looked as though liquid darkness had been painted onto his long, muscular legs.

His skin was so white and luminous; he put the surface of the moon to shame. In fact, he looked to have been carved from some white stone. His hair was a glistening, golden lion's mane. Those molten quartz eyes glowed with a smoky heat.

"Cedric…"

Red lips shimmered like glossy gems. Their carved perfection twitched upwards into a radiant smile. "I told you I wasn't gone, Harry. You really are hardheaded."

"Cedric!" He cried, racing around Dumbledore, throwing himself into those waiting arms, feeling them wrap around him like the protective branches of a mighty tree.

The animagus picked his aching jaw up off the floor, turning to look at the werewolf. Dumbledore was getting to his feet.

"You set me free, Harry," he said, squeezing him tight, kissing him here and there. "Your love gave me the strength I needed to get out."

Remus blinked. "Get out of what?"

Harry was sobbing and trembling in those muscular, marble arms. "I love you."

"How?" Sirius whispered, finding his voice again. "Huh?"

"It was so dark and lonely without you, Harry."

Green stars blazed up at him. "You're not a dream?"

Cedric seemed to sparkle with such warmth.

"I'll kill myself if I wake up!" He cried, pressing his face hard against his broad chest. "I can't do this anymore!"

Sirius could hear the truth in that threat and it frightened him terribly. Harry would go through with it, too.

"I'm no dream, Harry," Cedric soothed. His voice was like a siren's silver whisper, shining upon the glittering foam of the ocean. "I'm right here and I always will be. I'll be right beside you when you fall asleep and I'll still be with you when you wake up."

Harry started to laugh and it was no longer shattered and dead. It was filled with life and something brighter than that. It was as if his whole being was glowing and filling out.

"How did this happen?" Remus asked and suddenly stiffened. There was a scent in the air. He knew that smell. It caused his lips to pull back in a silent snarl.

Dumbledore turned around, looking away form the perfect picture of happiness to look at the startled werewolf. He nodded his head at Remus. "Mr. Diggory is a vampire."

Cedric lifted his molten mercury orbs from Harry's beaming face, looking right at the werewolf, giving him a wicked smirk with needle sharp fangs.

Sirius and Remus both, suddenly whipped out their wands. Glowing tips were pointed right at the living corpse.

Cedric spun Harry around, shielding him from the flying curses that never struck his back.

Dumbledore had blocked their magic with ease. He wasn't the headmaster for nothing.

The two men were gawking at the tattoo on the vampire's broad, marble white back. The tattoo was of large black bat wings. They stretched down along his smooth flesh and even into the seat of his pants.

"There is no need for such foolishness," the old wizard reprimanded. "Mr. Diggory is not a threat to us."

"Not now," Remus hissed.

"Not ever," Dumbledore corrected him again. "He will never do anything to hurt Harry in any way."

"And just how do you know that?" Sirius asked. So, those puncture marks hadn't been just his imagination. He had seen them. This thing had bitten his godson. This corpse was feeding off him.

"Because I love Harry," The vampire told them, turning to face them. He lifted Harry's unconscious form up into his powerful arms, holding him as if Harry were a fainted damsel. "He is everything and so much more to me."

They watched how those large wings lifted up off his smooth flesh, flapping several times. He folded them around himself, so he could use them to keep Harry warm and protected.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said. "Harry and Cedric are mated. Harry is his consort."

Dark eyes widened.

Remus paled considerably.

"Plus," Dumbledore smiled rather grimly. "Let us say you did somehow manage to slay Mr. Diggory. What do the two of you think Harry would do?"

Both just looked at him.

"He would never forgive either of you," he continued on. "In fact, he would become so crazed with grief he'd probably tear anything and anyone who got in his way to shreds." The old wizard's face darkened like a storm. "He would have to be destroyed."

The two of them looked away from the old wizard. The vampire was indeed an image of masculine beauty. He was singing to Harry.

"Well," Remus finally said. "This does explain Harry's rather shocking looks."

Dumbledore nodded.

"And his strength," Sirius added. His arms were already beginning to bruise where Harry had squeezed them earlier.

"Cedric," Dumbledore said, turning back to his guest. "I have a room ready for you to occupy now. Shall we take Harry there?"

The vampire nodded.

"Oh," he added. "When shall I inform your parents?"

"When Harry is back to himself again," Cedric answered. He lowered his head rather humbly. "Thank you, Professor. Thank you for not turning me away."

But, deep down inside, Cedric was angry. He was a poisonous viper, hidden within the roses. _Come a little closer. Don't you find this blossom divine? Go on, take a little sniff. I promise not to attack and sink my venom into your veins._

He was going to make all the people who had ever caused Harry pain to suffer fates worse than what his own had been. Every tear Harry had ever cried was going to be how many years he was going to make a certain _someone _(or 50) suffer. After all, he had all the time in the world now to exact his revenge on those who _so_ have it coming.

"This way," Dumbledore said, leading the way.

Sirius and Remus followed at a distance behind the vampire, who was carrying their precious treasure. Both of them were thinking only one thing. How in the world had all of this come about?

To Be Continued…

Thank you all so much for your reviews. I'm so happy that you are all enjoying the story. It makes me really happy to hear that. Please, do keep reading and telling me what you think. I see more blood and rose petals in the near future.

Flora.


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